We are very sorry to say that Friends of Stewart Park has decided to cancel Thursday's Presentation, The Public Parks of Rome with Kathryn Gleason, in light of the latest efforts to reduce potential exposure of COVID-19 (Coronavirus). We plan to reschedule the presentation once this outbreak has passed.
If you would still like to contribute to the Overlook preservation, you can donate online here or send a check to Friends of Stewart Park, memo "Fuertes Overlook."
We look forward to the warm weather that historically helps slow the spread of viral outbreaks. Until then, we hope you stay well.
The Public Parks of Ancient Rome: A Benefit Supporting the Phase II Restoration of the Historic Fuertes Bird Sanctuary Overlook in Stewart Park
WHAT: A Multimedia Presentation by Kathryn Gleason, Cornell Professor in Landscape Architecture
WHEN: Thursday, March 12, 2020 at 7:30 pm
WHERE: Cinemapolis, 120 East Green Street, downtown Ithaca
SUGGESTED DONATION: $15.00 (sliding scale from $10 to $50)
GET TICKETS HERE
Join Friends of Stewart Park for this special benefit presentation, proceeds of which will support the restoration of the historic bluestone Fuertes Overlook constructed in 1934 by the Cayuga Bird Club in honor of Louse Agassiz Fuertes. Cornell Landscape Architecture Professor Kathryn Gleason will present her archaeological research on Rome’s Public Parks with a multimedia presentation on Thursday, March 12, 2020 at 7:30pm at Cinemapolis.
FREE popcorn will be available for first 25 attendees courtesy of event sponsors Parkitects. Landscape Architects who attend will also receive 1 CEU (Professional Development Hour) is available for Professional Landscape Architects and the $45 PDH fee will be paid by event sponsor Parkitects for all PLA’s who attend. PDF registration and evaluation sheets will be available at the event.
About the Presentation: The Roman public park has largely been forgotten over time since vegetation does not survive the millenia in the same ways that architecture, sculpture, or even ancient texts do. Professor Gleason's talk reveals how the Romans combined the Greek ethos of public space with luxurious Persian and eastern Mediterranean royal garden traditions to create a series of public parks in Rome. These verdant parks offered respite from the crowded streets of this burgeoning city, a protected place for trees which cleared the eyes of air pollution. They were also important political statement about imperial power, educating the citizens of Rome about their place as citizens of a great empire by displaying the spoils of conquest, particularly collections of paintings, statuary and fountains. Gleason will share the evidence of these parks existence though a look at 2,000 year-old city plans of Rome in marble, as well as looking at archaeological excavation as evidence of the design, plantings, and experience of these shady, convivial spaces. If you have a love of and an interest in gardens and public parks, architecture and urban planning, and in history, you will surely enjoy this presentation.
About the Presenter: Kathryn Gleason is Professor of Landscape Architecture at the Cornell, where she teaches contemporary design and landscape architectural history. A leading expert on the archaeology of ancient Roman landscape architecture, she has directed or consulted on excavations at the palaces of Herod the Great of Judaea (Israel/Palestine), the Petra Garden and Pool Project (Jordan), Horace’s Villa at Licenza, the Villa Santa Maria at Nemi (Italy) and most recently the gardens buried by Mt. Vesuvius at Pompeii, Stabiae and Oplontis. Gleason is currently co-directing the Cornell /Reading excavations of a large urban garden at the Casa della Regina Carolina at Pompeii. In her research, she looks for evidence of the intentions and design concepts of the ancient designer. Her methodology for garden archaeology of all times and periods has been published in A Sourcebook for Garden Archaeology (A-A Malek, 2014). In addition to numerous articles and field reports, she is Executive Editor for the award-winning book, Gardens of the Roman Empire (Cambridge University Press, 2018) and editor of A Cultural History of Gardens/Antiquity (Bloomsbury, 2013). She is a Fellow of both the American Society of Landscape Architects and the American Academy in Rome, and currently a Senior Fellow in Garden & Landscape Studies at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, DC.
About the Benefit: Proceeds from this presentation will support Friends of Stewart Park's work with the City of Ithaca on Phase II restoration of the Fuertes Overlook in Stewart Park. This lovely stone structure, dating back to 1934, was a gift to the City from the Cayuga Bird Club in honor of Louis Agassiz Fuertes and overlooks the Fuertes Bird Sanctuary which was also funded by the Bird Club as a viewing area for migrating waterfowl. During phase I restoration, completed two years ago, the interior walls were repaired and grouted, the flagstone reset, and new railings were installed. Phase II will repair the exterior of the Overlook’s wall, an urgent project to preserve this important historic area in the park.
The benefit open to Ithaca residents and attendees of the 11th annual Ithaca Native Landscape Symposium (www.ithacanativelandscape.com) held this year on March 13 and 14 at Cinemapolis. Hope you will join us on March 12th!
For more information contact:
Rick Manning, ASLA
Executive Director, Friends of Stewart Park
www.friendsofstewartpark.org
rick@friendsofstewartpark.org
607-319-4766info info
